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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351284">Catnip</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/devianta/pseuds/devianta'>devianta</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hallucinations, I have no idea, Jealousy, Kittens, catnip, does catnip count as drug use?, he wants some love, madara is feeling lonely, madara's strange idea of gift giving, no beta we die like natsume reiko, one (1) titanic reference</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:47:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,081</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351284</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/devianta/pseuds/devianta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Touko-san gives Madara some catnip to try and cheer him up. Then he takes it a step farther...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fujiwara Touko &amp; Madara "Nyanko-sensei", Madara "Nyanko-sensei" &amp; Natsume Takashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Catnip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Touko-san was worried about him. Madara could tell. He hadn’t even been home all that long but somehow she’d already picked up on his somewhat depressed mood. Well, he wasn’t depressed per say, just a little out of sorts. It wasn’t like he was jealous or bothered about what happened at Tanuma’s birthday party. No, of course not. He was just a bit frustrated was all! </p><p>And why wouldn’t he be?! Tanuma had invited both him and Natsume to his party. Natsume had gone on ahead but Madara wanted to go catch his gift. He had. He caught a really cool frog for Tanuma (it wasn’t even one of Misuzu’s) and brought it to Tanuma’s house. But when he got there… Taki was there with a large basket of kittens (how dare she?!) and she was dumping the little fur balls all over Tanuma and Natsume, who lay in a pile, laughing and carrying on. So there was Madara, frog in his mouth, watching the boys and Taki play with the kittens, smattering them with kisses and affection (the betrayal!) and feeling like he’d just been punched in the face. So he left. (He let the frog go inside the house.)</p><p>Now he was home, relaxing (not moping) on the couch. He was fine. It didn’t matter that Taki brought those kittens to the party that he was attending, even thought she had once said that he was the cutest cat. It didn’t matter that those useless kittens were being treated with more open affection and admiration than he had ever been given. (Why couldn’t they give him more pets and kisses?) He was a daiyoukai after all. He’d saved those kids’ hides more times than he could count! Humans used to bow down before him in the old days! One time, he even had his paw kissed after saving an elderly woman (on a whim) from a charging wild boar.  Now he was lying abandoned on an old couch… while- while his charge was being covered in impudent kittens (that were trampling all over their combined “Madanatsu” scent), who he was showering with undeserved affection! It wasn’t fair!</p><p>“Aw, poor Nyankichi-kun!” </p><p>Ah! Finally, a friendly face! Kind, wonderful Touko-san! (Shower me with food and love!)</p><p>“I thought Takashi-kun took you with him to Tanuma-kun’s party. Did you get left behind? You poor thing! Here, I got something that’ll cheer you up. Follow me to the kitchen!” </p><p>Now that’s what I like to hear, Madara thought to himself and followed her. </p><p>But she didn’t do what he thought she would. Normally, if she was going to feed him, she would go into the refrigerator and pull out something she had prepared earlier. His food was usually made in the morning. But she didn’t take anything out of the refrigerator. No, instead she went into the cupboard and retrieved a plastic container filled with some kind of herb. This was new! But what was it?</p><p>“I bought this the other day at the store,” Touko-san sort of explained. She knelt, opened the container, and began to sprinkle the contents on the kitchen floor, much to Madara’s complete bafflement. What was this stuff? And why was she making a complete mess with it? Did she want him to clean it up? Eat it? It didn’t look like it would be very filling. “Here you go, Nyankichi-kun! Come give it a sniff.” </p><p>Huh? She wanted him to sniff it? What was that supposed to do for him? Well, he supposed it couldn’t hurt to try it. After all the food she’d given Madara, it was only fair that he humor her. </p><p>So he did. He walked over to the little piles of herb covering the floor and gave them a whiff. Almost immediately it felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. </p><p>What was this? </p><p>It smelled good. Not good in the way that Natsume smelled good (heavenly, intoxicating, addictive) or even good in the way that Touko-san’s cooking did (delicious, comforting, mouthwatering). No, it was good in some other indistinct way. Madara couldn’t put his paw on it but it was good. And it was doing weird things to him. </p><p>He felt electrified, energized, like he wanted to hunt something. Or someone. (You know who you want to track down and catch, a voice inside him said. He shoved the voice aside.) No, this was fine. This was good. A good, lovely scent. He rolled around in the herb piles, meowing happily for Touko-san. He pawed and play hunted imaginary things, darting here and there, running in, butting up against Touko-san’s hands, letting her pet him before zooming off again. It was fun. (It would be better with him, the voice suggested seductively. He ignored it.)  </p><p>But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more! He butted up against Touko-san’s hands again, purring in earnest. She cooed and gave him, soft, gentle pets. She scratched his head, behind his ears, his back. But the itch just wouldn’t go away! It irked him. He knew what he wanted but… He couldn’t have it. He was mad, dammit! That stupid boy and his friends playing with those kittens like they were somehow cuter or better than he was! What did they have that he didn’t?! </p><p>“Oh my, look at the time! I have to get dinner started,” Touko-san said, cutting through his frustrated haze. “I’ll get this cleaned up. Why don’t you go back into the living room while I get dinner going?” </p><p>She patted him on the head and retrieved the broom and dustbin. So that was that, huh? He still didn’t feel satisfied. He wanted… </p><p>The weird herb container was still sitting on the table. The boy was out of the question but perhaps he could find a suitable substitute. But what would that be? </p><p>Wait… </p><p>A wicked idea popped into his head. While Touko-san’s back was turned, Madara snagged the little plastic container from the table and high tailed it up to Natsume’s room. Shutting the door behind him, he tossed the container into the center of the room. Now for the fun part! Opening the closet door, he pushed the laundry hamper out and tipped it over. Dirty clothes fell out over the tatami floor. (This’ll piss him off when he gets home.) Dirty clothes ripe with their combined scent. Taking the herb container, Madara opened it and dumped the contents over the nest of soiled clothes. (A poor substitute for the real thing, commented the voice in his head. Who’re you attempting to fool?)  </p><p>He jumped into the pile. Immediately he was barraged with a dozen different scents, chief among them their own (so comforting) and the crazy herb (strange but good). But there’s also the smell of the school, the house and the Fujiwaras, the boy’s friends, a few other youkai (mostly members of the Dog’s Circle), ice cream (a youkai startled Natsume and he accidentally dumped it on himself), grass, dirt, and the tangy smell of growing spiritual power. The world spun, as did Madara. He rolled about in his little nest, pawing at the clothes, pulling them closer and rubbing his face against them. Oh, that dizzying smell…</p><p>Actually, he really was getting dizzy. The room was starting to spin faster and faster around him. This wasn’t good. Perhaps he shouldn’t have dumped the entire container out into his little clothes pile. Now that he thought about it, Touko-san hadn’t used that much earlier, just a few pinches. (Way to go, Madara, you fool.) He hoped he wouldn’t get sick and make a mess. He only wanted to annoy Natsume, not make him really mad! </p><p>“Hmm? Nyanko-sensei?’” a soft voice queried. Madara looked up and there he was, Natsume. </p><p>He swallowed nervously. “Natsume? What are you doing back so early?”</p><p>He smiled tenderly at Madara. “I missed you. Those kittens are nice but they can’t compare. You don’t look like you’re feeling very well. Do you want me to rub your tummy?” </p><p>Madara blinked and Natsume was kneeling before him, hand rubbing his belly. Sweet golden brown eyes gazed into his own. “You’re the only kitty for me.” </p><p>His breath caught in his throat. You’re the only boy for me, he wanted to reply but the words got caught too. He blinked… And Natsume was gone. </p><p>“Natsume? Natsume?! Where-“ he called, trying to get up but he stumbled and fell. The world was spinning so fast. </p><p>A laugh, like the ringing of silver bells. “Over here, sensei! I got you some sashimi.” And there he was by his desk. A plate piled high with delicious cuts of fish sat in his lap. Natsume held out his hand, a piece resting in his palm. “Would you like some?” </p><p>That was quite the tempting offer, even if the world was spinning a little too fast for Madara’s liking. But the pieces of fish looked so tender and they smelled amazing, even from where Madara was lying in the clothing pile. He tried to push himself into a standing position but his legs weren’t cooperating. He tried again but to no avail. What the hell?</p><p>“Natsume! Oi, Natsume! Can you bring that over here?” Madara asked but once again the boy was gone. Where did he go?!  “Natsume! Natsume! Quit disappearing on me, would ya?! Where are you?”</p><p>Madara blinked and there the boy was again. This time he was lying on the futon wearing his pajamas, eyes fond and hand out beckoning him. “Scent mark me like one of your pack mates, sensei!” </p><p>Something is wrong, Madara thought, heart sinking. Natsume would never say that. (It was too cheesy.) Was he- was he hallucinating? His vision swam. Green and white and tan and black… The herb! That’s what was causing this. (His heart broke.) Grabbing one of Natsume’s shirts that didn’t have too much of the herb on it, he dragged it and himself slowly but surely to the opposite corner of the room where he lied down underneath the shirt and waited for Natsume to come home. (Hopefully, he wouldn’t be too mad.) </p><p>____</p><p>“Sensei? Sensei? Where are-? What the-?!  What is this stuff? Catnip? What a mess.” The sound of rustling clothes. “Oi, sensei? Are you in here somewhere?” Footsteps. The shirt is lifted off of him. “There you are.” The light is intense. The world has stopped spinning but his head is killing him. He feels as though someone hit him over the head with a sledgehammer. He moans as Natsume picks him up and holds him.  A hand softly pets his head. “Are you okay?”</p><p>He shakes his head. No, he’s definitely not okay. He feels hungover. </p><p>“Why did you use the whole container? Did you not know what it was?”</p><p>He shakes his head again. Natsume sighs but continues to pet him. The boy opens a window and sits down next to it. He’s quiet, so quiet he can hear his heartbeat under his ear, hear his lungs fill with air and expel it with each breath, hear the strange little gurgles his stomach makes. It’s oddly calming. Madara wishes his head didn’t hurt so much so he could enjoy it more.  </p><p>“Taki and Tanuma were really worried when you didn’t come. Honestly, I was a little worried myself. But then we found that frog inside the house…” Natsume tilts Madara’s head up and looks him in the eye. “You really don’t like sharing, do you, sensei?” </p><p>Madara flushes hot with embarrassment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  </p><p>“Don’t you?” Natsume scratches him under his chin. A pleasant buzz of energy passes through him; his headache starts to fade.</p><p>Madara’s eyes go wide. “Did you just-?”</p><p>Natsume’s eyes brighten. “It worked?” </p><p>Before the cat can reply they hear Touko-san at the foot of the stairs. “Takashi-kun! Can you come here and give me a hand with this?”</p><p>“Coming!” the boy calls back. He sets Madara down. “Feeling better?” he asks him, giving him one last scratch behind the ear. He purrs and nods. “Good. Then clean up the mess you made.”</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“If you do I’ll share the piece of cake I brought home with you.” </p><p>That smile was back. He couldn’t say no. </p><p>Natsume leaves the room to go help Touko-san. Madara wanders over to the pile of clothes and catnip he made. It doesn’t smell as good as it did before. Truly, a poor substitution for the real thing.</p>
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